Patna, May 15: BJP turncoat Shatrughan Sinha, who is now contesting on the Congress ticket from his home constituency of Patna Sahib, claims to have taken the "blessing" of his political guru LK Advani before exiting the saffron camp. Advani, he said, was reduced to tears on his decision but did not stop him from leaving.

Sinha personally met Advani last month before announcing his resignation from the BJP and jumping ship to the Congress. The party patriarch, on hearing his decision, said, "Okay, love you", Sinha told NDTV.

Popularly referred to as "shotgun", Sinha had joined the BJP in 1989. After serving as a Rajya Sabha MP, he debuted in Lok Sabha in 2009, winning the Patna Sahib constituency by a record margin. In 2014, he retained the seat with a vote share of above 50 per cent.

Sinha has ever since turned a rebel citing the alleged autocratic behaviour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. BJP insiders, however, claim that his dissidence sparks from not being included in the Union Cabinet.

Sinha, however, has denied the charge saying that he rose up in revolt to protest the "tanashahi (dictatorship)" of the party top brass. Not only the BJP, but the Modi-Shah duo, if re-elected to power, would pose a threat to India's democracy, he added.